Valley baseball teams rumble into regions

HOUSTON — Since Houston High School brought back baseball four years ago, the Hawks have been steadily building their program. Now, as Houston and its three Valley rivals prepare for the upcoming Southcentral Conference Championships baseball tournament, the Hawks believe they have potential to make some noise.

“This is the season I've been waiting on for four years,” said Houston head coach Bill Kramer.

In the last four years, Houston has resurrected its program and upgraded Kramer Field to become one of the nicer baseball diamonds in the Valley. The Knights have also scored some big wins. Behind a stellar pitching performance from senior captain Scott Kramer, the Hawks beat longtime Southcentral Conference powerhouse Colony earlier this season.

Kramer and Russ Ruta highlight the senior class for the Hawks. Ruta and Kramer have seen much of their time on the mound or behind the plate. Both seniors hit over .500 to lead the team. Ruta is 10 for 10 at the plate with runners in scoring position.

Houston returned from a trip to the Southern Division of the conference last weekend. The Hawks lost 10-0 to the Kenai Kardinals and 16-7 to the Homer Mariners.

Kramer pitched most of the game to a 4-4 tie, but the Hawks lost the lead without their captain on the mound.

Though the Hawks have improved every year since the team’s rebirth, the curse of being the smallest school in the Valley still plagues the program. Kramer said the lack of depth has been a problem on the mound, as well as struggles defensively. With only a handful of athletes to go around, the baseball team has to compete with soccer and track. That problem is magnified by the size of Houston High, which is about half or one third the size of the other Valley high schools.

“Our hitters have done well. As a team, we're hitting over .300. Our defense is where we're struggling. Making routine outs to back up our pitchers has been our problem. And when you give a team extra outs, it hurts our pitchers,” Kramer said.

The Hawks are optimistic about heading into the region tournament and feature a handful of underclassmen who have made an impact with their varsity time.

Leadoff hitter Jaden Sears leads the team in RBI's.

“Sophomore Jace Taylor has grown probably six inches since last season. He was primarily a junior varsity pitcher to start the season, but has stepped up to fill a varsity role. He plays the game with a smile on his face the whole time, it's been a pleasant surprise,” Kramer said.

Devon Elson was moved from first base to left field.

“I think he can develop into a true force on the mound,” the coach said.

With the new double-elimination format for the Southcentral Conference tournament, pitching is a necessity for success.

“When we get down to Kenai everybody hits the reset button. It's a whole new ballgame,” Kramer said.

Palmer Moose

The Moose head into the region tournament Thursday swinging hot bats. The Moose notched 14 hits in their 12-9 win over Colony Thursday night.

Palmer started the season with a string of comeback wins over Houston and Wasilla, but had lost seven straight before beating the Knights 12-9 Monday.

Palmer head coach Dave Combs has been surprised by the number of newcomers to see varsity time this year. Freshman Elias Stratton started the year hitting eighth in the order, but has since moved to the second spot.

“He’s been great. Its the first time I've had a catcher who can throw out base runners. He's been just a brick wall defensively, too,” Combs said.

Freshman Adam Christiansen has seen limited varsity time, but will start in the region tournament in the outfield. Christiansen pitched in the game against Colony on Monday.

“He stepped up and came through in the most crucial moment for us,” junior Luke Heun said of the freshman.

The Moose have had trouble playing defense behind a strong pitching staff. Heun and Cameron Christiansen, as well as senior David Media, have seen much of the time on the mound for Palmer.

“Luke and David have an earned run average of just around 1.00, but we average four errors a game. If we could play some defense we could win some of these close games,” Combs said.

Heun bats leadoff and has seen time at shortstop and behind the plate when he is not pitching.

“Luke is the heart of this team,” assistant coach Alan Shults said.

Cameron Christiansen has been a utility player for Combs.

“He's great. He gets the job done no matter where I put him,” he said.

Christiansen has seen time all around the infield, as well as playing some outfield and pitching.

The Moose have struggled to score runs prior to exploding against the Knights. When the Moose scored in the first inning of Monday's game, it was the first lead they had taken in seven games.

Colony Knights

The Colony Knights hold the No. 1 seed in the North Division of the Southcentral Conference going into the region tournament with a record of 5-4.

In a double-elimination tournament, pitchers determine the strength of a team.

The Knights have played good defense behind possibly the deepest pitching staff in the region. Junior Jonathan Boyer leads the charge on the mound, throwing in the 80 mph range. Senior Damon Hammer returned to pitch this year after battling arm injury as a junior. Senior AC Schmer, sophomores Shawn Faulk and Ben Ross, and junior Jacob Butcher have all been strong on the mound for first-year head coach Jordan Chadwell.

“Errors have been really minimized this year. I'd say our defense has been one of the brighter points of our team,” Chadwell said.

The Knights beat Kenai behind a strong pitching performance from Houston.

Offensively, Chadwell feels the Knights have more to accomplish at the plate.

“We need to have a good mental approach at the plate. When we do that we win most of our games,” he said. “The big thing is in the games we've lost we haven't hit the ball well. You get a guy who comes in and changes speeds on us, and our guys didn't adjust.”

The Knights have a strong middle of the lineup with the bats of juniors Boyer, Zane Mileur and Morgan McJimsey to compliment Hammer.

McJimsey and Hammer hit back-to-back home runs against Palmer on Monday.

“They have really figured out their swing recently. It took them until the Kenai game, but now they're hitting the ball really well,” Chadwell said.

The Knights will play the fourth seed from the South Division to start the tournament.

Wasilla Warriors

While Colony may have the deepest pitching staff, Wasilla may have the most intimidating.

Sophomore Bryce Borngraeber and senior captain Josh Grissom threw back-to-back shutouts against Palmer earlier this season.

Borngraeber has been near untouchable, striking out 12 against Palmer and seven against Kodiak last weekend.

The Warriors also get Ian Stormont back from injury, though he may see limited time.

This is Grissom's first season with Wasilla after starting his Mat-Su Borough School District career with Houston before ASAA regulations sidelined him for the 2011 season. Grissom attended a private Christian school not affiliated with ASAA until his senior year.

Grissom has provided much of the offensive production at the plate for the Warriors.

“They switched me from third to fourth in the lineup, so that's a lot more responsibility for me. If we get some kids on base, it's Chris Capo's and my job to knock ’em in,” Grissom said.

Grissom leads the team in RBI.

Head coach Jason Terryberry is optimistic about his team's chances at the region tournament.

“If we can stick together and keep playing like we've been playing all year, the conference is up to anybody. I don't see a real dominant team. It just depends who's hot that day. If we play error free it should be fun to watch,” Terryberry said.

All but one of Wasilla's losses have been by three runs or less.

Wasilla will play the No. 3 seed from the South Division at the region tournament in Kenai on Thursday.